Accuride Corporation, a supplier of components to the global commercial vehicle industry, announced the launch of its proprietary EverSteel steel wheel technology at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week ’16 in Las Vegas. The new technology is the first of its kind in the commercial vehicle industry and comes with a five-year warranty against corrosion. EverSteel extends Accuride’s leadership in value-added steel wheel coating technology that began with its launch of Steel Armor in 2013.
EverSteel provides unprecedented corrosion protection that outperforms competing wheels. In independently-performed cyclic corrosion testing (GM9540P), EverSteel demonstrated six times longer life than its North American and offshore competitors and double the operational life of Accuride’s Steel Armor steel wheels. The advanced corrosion-fighting properties resulting from EverSteel’s proprietary four-phase coating process deliver unmatched durability and wheel service life. This enables Accuride to offer customers the industry’s first warranty against steel-wheel corrosion with EverSteel.
Especially suited for trailer applications and fleets regularly operating in ice and snow, EverSteel wheels offer superior resistance to corrosion. This is significant, as traditional steel wheels subject to corrosion from road salt and harsh de-icing chemicals must be refinished about every three years in order to maintain their performance and appearance. By delaying the onset of corrosion for up to eight years, EverSteel extends the usable life of the wheel prior to initial refinishing. EverSteel enables customers to save a projected $105 in wheel refinishing and maintenance costs, as well as the downtime associated with taking the wheels out of service.
Accuride developing lightweight Gunite wheel end components
Accuride also discussed ts recently acquired patented metal matrix composite (MMC) technology during its news briefing at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week ’16. Accuride President and CEO Rick Dauch explained the central role the MMC technology plays in the company’s research and development of advanced lightweight Gunite brake drums and wheel end components.
Accuride acquired the MMC technology assets from Century-3 Plus, L.L.C. in 2015 as part of its commitment to develop lightweight Gunite wheel end components capable of delivering substantial weight, fuel and operating cost savings. The initial development program – creating high-performance, lightweight Gunite-brand brake drums – is an integral part of Accuride’s component lightweighting initiatives to help the commercial vehicle industry comply with upcoming Phase II greenhouse gas regulations posed by the U.S. EPA.
The expected benefits of the lightweight Gunite MMC brake drum in development include:
- Significant weight reduction
- Longer product life
- Reduced stopping distance
- Improved performance
- Increased payload
Accuride introduces lightweight aluminum wheels at HDAW’16
Accuride also announced it has added two lightweight aluminum wheels to its product offering today at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2016 in Las Vegas. The wheels are part of Accuride’s effort to provide customers the lightest high-performance steel and aluminum wheels possible.
Re-engineered to reduce weight by 5-7 percent, the new aluminum wheels are both standard type 22.5 x 9.00 wheels produced at the company’s aluminum wheel production facility in Erie, Pa. The new wheels will be available effective April 1. Accuride continues to redesign and light-weight its aluminum wheel product portfolio to reduce weight and improve fuel savings for its fleet and aftermarket customers without sacrificing performance.
Specifications for the new wheels include:
41730 wheel – replaces previous part number 29730 and features a reduced weight of four pounds (total weight per wheel: 58 lbs).
41012 wheel – replaces previous part number 40012 and features a reduced weight of three pounds (total weight per wheel: 51 lbs).
